David’s Cisco Networking Blog

If you are familiar with Microsoft MVP, VMware’s new vExpert is a similar concept. Both are yearly awards to people who contribute to their respective product communities (Microsoft or VMware). You can nominate yourself or others can nominate you. There is no monetary award but perhaps some software and access to special forums will be awarded. Still, the biggest benefit is that you can associate the term “vExpert” with your name.

Keep in mind that VMware is only accepting vExpert nominations until Feb 6, 2009.

I really enjoyed Jamey Heary’s NetworkWorld.com article covering the Top 10 YouTube Hacking Videos. While there were may interesting and funny videos, the one that I found most interesting (as I am interested in Virtualization) was the virtual machine hacking video:

In my article Exploring entry-level options for using VoIP, I cover your choices for getting into the world of VoIP with a VoIP phone system. Cisco, and other companies, have some great options that you should consider before dropping $20K with a local PBX vendor who sells you a some overpriced PBX that also does VoIP.

Chris Bryant, CCIE #12933, and Train Signal have released their latest video training course and it covers the Cisco CCNA Security certification. The course not only prepares you to pass the CCNA Security test (IINS 640-553) but also does a great job teaching you how to secure your Cisco network.

I have watched many Chris Bryant videos and, trust me, he is one of the best Cisco teachers I have ever learned from. There is a free demo of the course on the Train Signal website and it comes with a 90 day money back guarantee. Plus, you will receive a the associated Transcender exam and the video training on iPod, WMV, and MP3 formats for training on the go!

However, as the saying goes, these have been “all talk and no action”. Well, what I mean is that you didn’t get to “see it” in any of these posts and, if you are a visual person like me, it can be tough to imagine a new Cisco virtual switch from a bunch of words.

A little while back I wrote an article entitled Cellular Data to your Cisco Router – have you tried it? In this article, I talked about how I used a Kyocera KR1 cellular data router with a Sprint 3G cellular data card. Toward the end, I have a large section on the Cisco WIC cards that are available if you want to use cellular 3G with your Cisco router.